Interpretive Summary: Snowmelt in mountainous areas is an important contributor to river water flows in the western United States. We
developed a distributed model that calculates solar radiation, canopy energy balance, surface energy balance, snow
pack dynamics, soil water flow, snow–soil–bedrock heat exchange, soil water freezing, and lateral surface and subsurface
water flow. The model was applied to describe runoff generation in a subcatchment of the Dry Creek Experimental
Watershed near Boise, ID. Calibration was achieved by optimizing the soil water field capacity (a trigger for lateral
subsurface flow), lateral saturated soil hydraulic conductivity, and vertical saturated hydraulic conductivity of the bedrock.
Validation results show that the model can successfully calculate snow dynamics, soil water content, and soil
temperature. Modeled streamflow for the validation period was underestimated by 53%. The timing of the streamflow
was captured reasonably well (modeling efficiency was 0.48 for the validation period). The model calculations suggest
that 50 to 53% of the yearly incoming precipitation in the subcatchment is consumed by evapotranspiration. The model
results further suggest that 34 to 36% of the incoming precipitation is transformed into deep percolation into the bedrock,
while only 11 to 16% is transformed into streamflow.

Technical Abstract:
Snowmelt in mountainous areas is an important contributor to river water flows in the western United States. We
developed a distributed model that calculates solar radiation, canopy energy balance, surface energy balance, snow
pack dynamics, soil water flow, snow–soil–bedrock heat exchange, soil water freezing, and lateral surface and subsurface
water flow. The model was applied to describe runoff generation in a subcatchment of the Dry Creek Experimental
Watershed near Boise, ID. Calibration was achieved by optimizing the soil water field capacity (a trigger for lateral
subsurface flow), lateral saturated soil hydraulic conductivity, and vertical saturated hydraulic conductivity of the bedrock.
Validation results show that the model can successfully calculate snow dynamics, soil water content, and soil
temperature. Modeled streamflow for the validation period was underestimated by 53%. The timing of the streamflow
was captured reasonably well (modeling efficiency was 0.48 for the validation period). The model calculations suggest
that 50 to 53% of the yearly incoming precipitation in the subcatchment is consumed by evapotranspiration. The model
results further suggest that 34 to 36% of the incoming precipitation is transformed into deep percolation into the bedrock,
while only 11 to 16% is transformed into streamflow.